


Coeur de Lion

by alea_archivist (the_aleator)



Series: A Mere Appendix [9]
Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hiatus, Hurt/Comfort, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23413423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_aleator/pseuds/alea_archivist
Summary: Taking Holmes back after the Hiatus is one of the most difficult things Watson  has ever done.
Relationships: Lestrade & John Watson, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Series: A Mere Appendix [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636375
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10
Collections: Watson's Woes JWP Entries: 2013





	Coeur de Lion

John Watson has always been accorded a Brave man. Bravery is his stamp, and the sun never sets on the fruits of his Courage.

He clenches his jaw, and marvels at the image of the man that swims before him - for lo - it is Sherlock Holmes, back from the dead, extending his long, slim hand to him. Those stained and scarred fingers bear the weight of memory, but also the weight of expectation, for John has given and given for this man, and to clasp that hand is to give even more.

He hesitates, for the grind of small indignities has worn on his soul, and indeed, the dragging chain of duty sinks his heart with leaden weight, and the thought of future, Herculean tasks terrifies him.

No man, he knows, should hold him accountable if he should decline that hand and go his own way, freed from such a burden and left to carry on his own life. Yet there is something greater than his own desire at work here, and though his fingers shake as he reaches them out, his voice is steady as he says

"Always and at once, Holmes."

Holmes gives one nod, and Watson knows that his sacrifice shall never be forgotten, not by the likes of his friend. Swimming on the sea of his good fortune, he is blushing with joy, at least until Lestrade draws him aside after the arrest of Moran.

Murmuring into his ear, the Inspector says softly

"You have taken him back, then?"

"Yes." Watson admits, and seeing the tight look on Lestrade's narrow face, points out gently "But you have also, Lestrade. And for the same reason, I should think."

Lestrade's lips curve into a slight smile as he responds, with something fragile in those earthy eyes

"So I have, Doctor."

Later, when Watson is alone, he marvels at the vulnerable moment that has been shared between them, and all because of the most difficult man that he has ever known. But he knows, with the stirring of something deep and precious in his soul that what binds them together is stronger than fear, and longer than the grave.

If John Watson was a coward, he should have denied that friendship, and left his heart moldering in a rotting casket, where the air is easy and stale, and all growth denied by the absence of the sun. His heart should have been impenetrable, hard as stone, and absolutely terrified.

But John Watson was a Brave man, and his heart was split and shattered, until each man that he called Friend owned a piece, and all on account of love.

Yet somehow, his lion's heart was more than whole.

**Author's Note:**

> JWP #19: "A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." - Mohandas Gandhi, see also C.S. Lewis from the 'Four Loves', upon which this piece is partially based:
> 
> “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”


End file.
